Washington, D.C. (DC) Critical Care Medicine Doctors and Physicians

Critical care medicine deals with life support or organ support for patients who are critically ill. A critical care physician diagnoses, treats, and supports patients who may be in an intensive care unit, or who may have multiple organ dysfunction. Patients who receive intensive care treatment are usually critically ill patients who are treated after major surgery and require intensive monitoring. The critical care or intensive care physician may also communicate with the patient’s primary physician, other specialists, and the critical care staff to coordinate treatment and care.

Physicians in this specialty treat patients suffering from numerous diseases and illnesses, but some of the most common are Trauma, cystic fibrosis, renal failure, Liver Failure, Post-operative Care, Acute Lung Injury, Serious Infections, Hypoxic Injury, Multi-organ Dysfunction, Circulatory Failure, Cardiopulmonary Failure, airway & respiratory compromise, Reversible heart & lung dysfunction, and hemodynamic instability.

Once properly diagnosed, practitioners can perform numerous procedures on patients including tracheotomy, endotracheal tube, mechanical ventilation, ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation), passage of pulmonary arterial balloon flotation catheters, adial arterial catheterization, and establishing central venous access.

To diagnose patients with possible illnesses and diseases, specialists will often perform one of many tests including Blood Test, Computed Axial Tomography (CT or CAT Scan), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and Pulmonary Function Tests (PFTs).